By the Edge of a Lake: Sarah and Mark's Lusty Beg Island Wedding

A pair of childhood sweethearts who plighted their troth by the edge of a lake: ladies, we bring you the beautiful wedding of Sarah and Mark, as captured by our dear friends Blackbox Photography. Lusty Beg Island was the scene for a magical Summer's day, when Sarah and Mark tied the knot on front of delighted family and friends, and then enjoyed a celebration to remember. Filled with little DIY details from both the bride and groom, as Sarah makes her own accessories and Mark is a joiner, so they peppered their wedding with lots of little handmade touches combining their talents and tastes. A lovely real wedding to cheer up a winter's morning...

Take us back to the beginning, how did you meet? "We met at school. I used to think Mark was a real show off. It wasn't until we got chatting that I realised he was a lovely guy. Mark didn't have a mobile at the time so we exchanged email addresses and emailed all the time ( I still have all of the emails) our first kiss was at the school disco and the rest, as they say, is history. He really is my childhood sweetheart."

A lot of years later, and Mark knew Sarah was the one for him, so how to pop the question? Well, Mark had done his homework... (literally)

"We had booked a night away to Belfast in March 2011, and because we couldn't check into our room until later that evening, Mark suggested we go for a picnic. He even said he would sort out the food, which was unusual. Mark was so fussy about where we ate the picnic and I kept saying ‘lets eat here’ ‘here will do’ and he kept saying no. So, after over an hour of looking for somewhere to eat we finally found a spot, but I was starving at this stage so I started tucking into my food but Mark hardly ate! He said he was cold and went to the car to get his "jacket", but when he came back he was armed with a notebook and bunch of flowers and he sat down again and opened his wee notebook and read out a story that he had written about us... he then continued with a poem he had also written about us...

Of course by this stage I had started bawling and he then came over beside me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He handed me the flowers and there were 3 white rose all covered in diamonds and right in the middle was a ring. I was speechless (and those who know me know that this never happens) and left Mark waiting patiently on his knee before I could manage to say ‘yes’!! He then said he had another suprise and whisked me away to London after our night in Belfast. He even had packed me another bag with dresses, shoes, the works. It really was an amazing weekend and one to remember."

Now, wouldn't your heart just melt? A man who writes love notes? Who said romance was dead?!

Typically when it comes to the wedding prep, the bride is the one on board with the gluegun and scissors, making and doing all the little bits and pieces to add that special something to give the wedding a 'look' but as mentioned, Mark is a man of many talents, and contributed just as much as Sarah did. How about the fact that he made this Mini - no, not a dress, the car!

For Sarah and Mark, top priority was a venue where both the ceremony and evening reception could be held, and an outdoor ceremony was a wish too (weather permitting of course), but it looks like they didn't have to worry about that at all in the end...

The day we went out to see Lusty Beg Island was a lovely hot summer's day, and we both fell in love with it - especially when we heard you can get married outside on the island. All we hoped for then was that we got a dry day for our wedding...

It is such a relaxed venue and has such a cool vibe which is what we wanted our guests to feel on our wedding day - and that was one thing everyone said about our wedding - how relaxed it was.

Well when the bride arrives in a mini built by the groom, you know that you're in the presence of some cool customers...

Given Sarah designs jewellery and headpieces, and Mark is a joiner, the theme of their decor was a natural evolution - using wood and lace, and a rustic country vibe.

When the moment came, to see his bride, it all became a little too much for Mark, something that is a treasured memory for Sarah... "I have to say seeing Mark for the first time on our wedding day was amazing! He was so emotional and I just couldn't wait to marry him! I would 100% do our day all over again and wouldn't change a thing. The fact that the sun shone all day and that we had our beautiful ceremony outside was an added bonus. It was perfect!

Sarah made a myriad of accessories you will spot - from Mark's buttonhole, to her own shoe embellishments, rings for the bridesmaids and her own corsage.

Who says you can't have the epic outdoor ceremony in Ireland?

Utterly fabulous.

Oh, and this is the Mini that Mark built... Built. How many men do you know can do that?

Back in the reception, the guests were greeted by a profusion of little details created by Sarah, with flowers by Clare Forde, a really close friend of the couple. While Mark’s brother and sister also suprised everyone, including Sarah and Mark, with a candy buffet.

A little joke that I kept making to Mark coming up to our wedding was that I didn't care what I ate as long as I had a KFC, little did I know Mark had arranged for a KFC to be delivered and brought out as wedding meal! It was so funny.

And as the sun began to set, Sarah and Mark disappeared for a few minutes with Blackbox Photography.

Some alone time, before everything kicks off after the meal is lovely to have, and as you will see, the images are worth those guilty moments away from your guests...

Magnificent.

So having gone through the whole wedding planning process, and clearly having had a fantastic day, what advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? Do not stress! Enjoy it all, the run up and the day. It's just one day, you’ve put so much planning into it all, so just enjoy it!

Never a truer word. After all the hard work, you have to remember to take a deep breath and just go with it - no matter what happens, it will be fantastic, so just relax!